BSH – Brandon #15 20, Alan Hogan 18
Sonic Boom – Gabe Gibbs 24, Connor Rockandel 12, David #1 9
The only teams in the last 8+ years of Vancouver Metro I worry about when it came to roster attendance is: SWAT and Sonic Boom! Sonic Boom has been a staple in the Metro league from its move to the World Famous Richmond Oval! In the same time, Sonic Boom has had team after team that have been title contenders’ year in and year out. The main obstacle for them is bench depth. On the flipside, Ball So Hard rarely has attendance problems which is shown by their consistency with being at or near the top of the standings every season!
Sonic Boom would have enough to start the game, but that was just a precursor to Ball So Hard out for complete domination! One of the fastest teams in the league, BSH ran, ran, and ran some more! Anchored by the quick front court of Brandon and Alan Hogan, both scored 10 each and pushed the undermanned Sonic Boom team to an 18 point halftime deficit.
The second half looked to be a coronation to the Vancouver Metro Finals, but just before halftime a familiar face checked in. Gabe Gibbs laced up the sneakers to not only try to close the gap to make it a respectable game, but to win! The game was still all Ball So Hard, until a few untimely subs sparked the Sonic Boom run. It would be a big run too, as the 18 point lead would shrink to 3 late in the 2nd half! Gibbs scored 20 of his team high 24 in the 2nd half, and looked to be on the verge of an upset! BSH would put together a few defensive stops, including a late game steal by Devon Carney followed by 2 free throws from Devon to seal the game.
SKG – Will Chaing 30, “Made Man” Eddie Fan 13, Derek #18 10
Agaveros – Oscar Salvador 22, Andrew Peterson 13
The multiple time Vancouver Metro champion Sofa King Good was definitely roster deficient this year, but they still managed to get a top seed in the playoffs even with being one of the shortest teams in the league. Agaveros is packed full of grizzled veterans that have an abundance of experience in tough, high stressed basketball tilts.
SKG had a few obstacles in dealing with the taller team that liked to throw their bodies into harm’s way. However, just before the midway point Will Chaing would be a near unstoppable force for SKG! Will would use his strength and lighting speed to carve through the Agaveros defense. His knifing drives caused Agaveros to get into early foul trouble, as he would connect from the free throw line at the tune of 8 for 8! Will’s 17 point first half helped give SKG a 9 point lead at the half.
The second half would be more of the same for SKG, but it became a team onslaught. Agaveros’ captain Oscar Salvador lit up the scoreboard from behind the arc 7 times in the game, leading to a team high 22 points. That would not be enough as SKG poured on the scoring backed by the World Famous “Palmer Zone”! One of the best transition from defense to offensive teams in league history, SKG made life miserable for Agaveros going on to win by 19 points!
Swat – Gene Wolff 26, Richie Wolff 20, Karinga Wells 16
Van Rain – Matt Anza 25, Jeff Chan 16
Despite being on the consolation side of playoffs, Swat and Van Rain showed true love of the game and came ready as if it was the championship game. After an extended warmup, both teams came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. Both teams were racing up and down the floor like young teenagers, even though we all know that the SWAT team is collectively the oldest team in the league!
Age didn’t stop SWAT from lighting up the scoreboard with 46 first half points! While Van Rain fell behind in the middle of the half, Matt Anza was a one man team scoring 19 of his 25 points in that half. Matt has been rumored to be on “Juice Watch”, and this performance did not quell those rumors!
The 2nd half was more of the same, but the old bones of SWAT started to show like “old people walking in the mall”! Both teams had a good showing. No nerves could be found as both teams knew they were not in the running for the title, but it made for a good game with no pressure on the line.
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